Cambodia, Breaking the Bonds of History is a book which needs writing. Cambodia is a growing destination for international tourists, generating an international interest in the country unseen for many years. This influx of tourists is stimulating change at a break-neck pace in many parts of the country, and many of the images presented here may disappear in a very short time. Cambodia as a whole has not been visually or textually explored in a manner accessible to the casual visitor. While some projects have cast their gaze beyond the horror of the Khmer Rouge and the splendor of the Angkorian Temples, no recent project has sought to provide an in-depth view of life throughout the country.

Cambodia is a country rich in visual extremes. The dense jungle of the Cardamom mountains, the mangrove forests of Kirirom national park, the urban sprawl of Phnom Penh, the wilds of Ratanakiri and finally the stunning temple-scapes of Angkor offer a range of images incredible in scope. Delving beyond the wealth of physical geography in the country, one encounters seasonal differences which transform rice fields from emerald green, to a burnt golden wave, to a blackened patch of ground within a span of a few months time. The sky itself changes over the course of a year, from searing blue to a dull graphite, leaving only the contrast offered by the blood-red earth unchanged.

In a trip around Cambodia one will encounter many modes of life. Farmers grow rice, fruit trees, rubber trees and vegetables. Fisherman ply their trade on the Tonle Sap lake, the Mekong river, and off the coast in the teeming waters of the South China Sea. In Phnom Penh cyclos prowl the streets against a background of women toiling to produce the garments we wear in the west, peddlers wandering the streets pitching their wares, and shop owners selling a stunning range of goods. In Siem Reap moto drivers patrol the tourist quarter offering temple tours, marijuana, and lady massage while a few kilometers in any direction leaves the more intrepid visitor far from the beaten track.

Religions of all ilk are present, from the traditions of the native animism to the long-ago adopted Buddhism, the Islamic tradition brought to the country by the Cham people, and the new wave of Christianity promoted by missionaries from far and near. Visually each offers a different scene- wooden churches set next to functioning wats, spirit houses ten meters from a mosque. Buddhist monks walk purposefully under the morning sun from door to door, gathering alms. Muslims gather for prayer at the local mosque taking a few moments to change into their garb of choice after dressing to blend with the general population for work. Lay men and women take a break from their hurried lives to make offerings at shrines throughout the country.
Cambodia is, in short, visually stunning. At the same time, outside of the temples, its aural charm is under represented in the body of work produced about the country. Our book aims to change that. We offer this book to expose the literally hundreds of thousands of yearly visitors to a Cambodia which exists outside of their limited observations. The roads of Cambodia and its rough physical landscape make travel a challenge, and the vast majority of foreign visitors to Cambodia spend their entire time in Siem Reap, oblivious to the beauty and charm of Cambodia's landscapes and people beyond the limits of Siem Reap town and the Angkor Park. This book will aid in changing that.

David and I have become captivated by Cambodia, and while both of us are in awe of the temples, the true draw of the country for us has been the countryside, the people, and the undulations of Phnom Penh as arguably the last truly languorous remnant of colonial Indochina. We wish to bring the beauty, the ragged charm and the harsh reality of Cambodia as a whole into the view of the world as represented by the tourist population. Our book will also provide a souvenir for the person who went further afield, who saw parts of Cambodia we have also seen and captured here. The accompanying text will transport the reader back to the village they may have visited briefly, and conjure the sights and sounds, both wonderful and appalling, of the town markets, the cityscapes, and rural backwater most likely viewed at full speed from some form of transport utilized to travel between highly touristed destinations.

We will use this book to show the world what we love about Cambodia, to allow people to bring a memoir of the sights, sounds and textures of Cambodia into their homes. To adequately portray a subject it must be adored, and we adore Cambodia, her people, her beauty, her problems. This book will bring to light areas of Cambodia which are otherwise ignored. It is of course only a sample of the country, a survey and by necessity limited in scope, but it will offer readers Cambodia on a grander scale than is available now. By choosing to portray the country as a whole we are targeting a lofty goal, looking to tell the story of a country and a people through images and words made available to us by the land and the human beings who inhabit it. We believe we have succeeded in creating a body of work unique in its scope and focus. We believe we have created a necessary book, one which will give voice to a land and a culture long ignored, one deemed insignificant by the great powers of the world. Cambodia is significant to those who encounter it, for it offers a glimpse of a time nearly passed, of a culture overflowing with gentleness, mystery, and celebration; a glimpse of a country once lost and beginning to find itself once again, even as so much of it begins to disappear.